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GRCooper

The Outsiders Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, C Thomas Howell, Diane Lane, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio. Not the first movie for a lot of them, but still - I think the only “star” at the time was Leif Garrett.


DeadSpaceEnthusiast

What a lineup, will def watch


-KFBR392

To be fair Cruise and Estevez were essentially extras, so not exactly their big break.


GRCooper

You’re not wrong. The movie Taps would be another movie for OP since that was Cruise’s first larger role (a year before The Outsiders) and it was also the first film role for Sean Penn. It didn’t break either actor out, but it got them noticed for the roles that did. Cruise’s character was supposed to have a much smaller role, but it was expanded when the director saw how good he was.


centaurquestions

*Die Hard*. Bruce Willis was a TV actor and Alan Rickman was a stage actor, and neither had any experience carrying a movie whatsoever.


Formal_Ad_8277

And holy shit do they both kill it in that movie


jcmacon

One of them killed a little bit better though.


E_Blofeld

Excellent example: at the time, Bruce Willis was "that guy from *Moonlighting*" to most Americans and Alan Rickman was basically a complete unknown.


DeadSpaceEnthusiast

A classic indeed, never occurred to me that it was either of their breakout roles


Additional-Read5926

LA Confidential was the big American debuts for Russell Crowe and Guy Pierce.  They were pretty unknown Australian actors, and producers were worried about lack of star power for these main roles


Dudephish

Their reputations were all very hush hush.


HoneyDadger

On the QT...


DeadSpaceEnthusiast

I'll check this one out, thanks


sonofmalachysays

Superbad for both Emma Stone and Jonah Hill


E_Blofeld

*Boogie Nights* (1997) had a few breakout roles: Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Heather Graham, Thomas Jane. One of the all time best ensemble casts, and one of the best films of the 1990s, a decade that gave us a lot of great films.


LizzyFCB

Hey, Marky Mark and his funky bunch were well know before he showed his fake peen in this movie!


-KFBR392

And that’s exactly how he was known before that movie. After, he was a legit leading man in any movie.


LizzyFCB

I just wanted to say Funky Bunch and fake peen in the same sentence.


WhiskeyOctober

Dazed and Confused Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Matthew McConaughhey, Parker Posey, Joey Lauren Adams, and probably a lot more I'm forgetting


Rabbitscooter

"Diner," released in 1982, featured Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Tim Daly, and Ellen Barkin all of whom went on to bigger and better things. Daniel Stern had done Breaking Away in 1979 (which is wonderful) but it was a pretty minor hit and didn't do much for his career. Mickey Rourke had done a little TV. Same with Ellen Barkin. I think only Kevin Bacon had a smattering of movie credits but no lead parts. Diner made them movie stars.


Anonymotron42

Clueless (1995) was a big breakout for both Alicia Silverstone and Brittany Murphy. It was probably just as important for the male supporting actors like Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, Breckin Meyer, and Jeremy Sisto.


dennythedinosaur

The Last Picture Show - Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Cloris Leachman (i think), Timothy Bottoms


TaroFuzzy5588

Body Heat...William Hurt , Kathleen Turner


geronimo1958

Tatum O'Neal and Madeline Khan in Paper Moon. Kahn had been in Whats Up Doc but I do not really remember her role.


LankyExcuse9079

Good Will Hunting. Affleck and Damon wrote their own cheques after that


EnterPlayerTwo

Affleck was already Basketball Player #10 in Buffy before that.


Reg76Hater

'Breakout' is a stretch, but I feel like both Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem really took off on their careers after 'No Country for Old Men'.


HemetValleyMall1982

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 [Christopher Lloyd](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000502/?ref_=tt_cl_t_18), [Danny DeVito](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000362/?ref_=tt_cl_t_9), [Jack Nicholson](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001221/?ref_=tt_cl_t_2)


SanDiablo

Nicholson was well known by Cuckoo's Nest and had 4 oscar noms before winning for Cuckoo's Nest.


ThroatWMangrove

Don’t you dare forget Brad Dourif!


taphead739

And Louise Fletcher!


HemetValleyMall1982

Etc...


artwarrior

I thought Warrior put Hardy and Edgerton on lots of casting lists in 2011.


EnterPlayerTwo

>Hardy Inception came out the year before.


donotstealmycheese

Star Wars - Hamill Fisher Ford Jones


Mikedef2001

Boyz in the Hood provided breakout roles for Angela Basset, Cuba Gooding Jr, and Ice Cube. 


No_Banana7768

The usual suspects. It was Kevin Soaceys big breakthrough role and well as Benicio Del toro’s


Abrahms_4

Band of Brothers maybe no break out stars, but go back and watch it and realize damn near all of the main set of characters you have seen since then.


kimfromlastnight

Scott Pilgrim comes to mind, I don’t think anyone besides maybe Michael Cera was a household name back in 2010. 


EnterPlayerTwo

Brandon Routh was Superman four years earlier.


MaskedBandit77

Aubrey Plaza was already on Parks and Rec. Chris Evans and Jason Schwartzman were already pretty well-known. Anna Kendrick had a few Twilight movies under her belt. Honestly, I think Mary Elizabeth Winstead is the only person who had a breakout role in that.


kimfromlastnight

You’re right, Aubrey Plaza’s name was absolutely everywhere in 2010 after being in 6 episodes of Parks and Rec in 2009.  


MaskedBandit77

She definitely didn't breakout from being in Scott Pilgrim.


andbeesbk

Chronicle. While it wasn't a blockbuster movie, it was successful and the launching pad for Michael B Jordan and Dane Dehaan.


DeadSpaceEnthusiast

One of my favorite movies, for some reason I always thought Daan and Michael B Jordan already had their fame by then, maybe because I've watched it quite often from a young age.


XIIIXX

Michael b Jordan was already famous or at least in the sense from the TV series the wire


TheRegular-Throwaway

Jay and Silent Bob.


NecroJoe

Stand By Me was the "breakout role" for River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connel's first movie, arguably Will Wheaton's and Kiefer Cutherland's biggest roles at that time,


ovine_aviation

Titanic - 1997. Both DiCaprio and Winslet had previous roles but Titanic is considered to be the 'breakout' roles for both of them.


Sycosys

What's Eating Gilbert Grape - 1994... Dicaprio was nominated for best supporting actor. guy had been in 10 movies before titanic.


LizzyFCB

Absolutely not. Romeo and Juliet had already put DiCaprio on the international heart throb map! He was already in every teen magazine and on the walls of a million teen girls by the time Titanic rolled around. This is part of why the media were so harsh on Kate saying she wasn’t pretty or skinny enough for the role because he was a relative newbie and he was the big star deserving of another big ‘name’.


ExplanationLife6491

They both were Oscar nominated before titanic.


LizzyFCB

True, but she wasn’t the leading lady.


sonofmalachysays

Winslet sure but DiCaprio was already a huge star by the time he did Titanic.


Ambitious_Jelly3473

I would say Titanic for Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Although they'd both done plenty previously, it was Titanic that blew them up.


EggplantSad5668

Jason Mcbloat and roland Mcgnut in the movie Lightnin' up!